Ricardo Dellarosa, from the Amazon Protection Organisation (Sipam), speculates that the drought is due to the large amounts of air rising in the north Altantic, which create hurricanes, and in turn the air above the Amazon is descending preventing the formation of clouds.

The sound of music rings out from one of L.A.'s newest nightspots tucked away in an exclusive hillside neighborhood, but not loudly enough to raise a ruckus with the neighbors. Conceived by jazz great Herb Alpert, Vibrato Grill Jazz ... etc. combines an all-American jazz club with California and traditional American cuisine.

Across the world, English is recognized as the language of commerce, travel, and much else. But thanks to a decree issued earlier this year by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, prospective diplomats no longer need to be fluent to win a place at Brazil's diplomacy school.